It is with great excitement and pride that I’m able to show you the image which is a finalist in the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017!

The portrait is of Annette Baker, Albury, NSW who was a finalist in both the Inaugural Australian Mental Health Prize 2016 and the Rural NSW Woman of the Year 2017 for her advocacy for mental health & breaking down the barriers to talking about suicide. After losing her 15 year old daughter to suicide Annette and husband Stuart created an event call the Winter Solstice which brought people together on the longest night of the year to acknowledge those left behind.

Annette’s portrait is now in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra waiting for the announcement of the winners on 31 March 2017. The exhibition is open to the public from 1 April 2017- 18 June 2017 then on regional tour. Entry is free.

I’ll be writing more about Annette’s work and how and why I captured her the portrait in the coming week but I want to thank Annette for her trust in me to capture her portrait. I hope that it will build on what Annette & the Bakers have achieved  and continue the conversations around mental health and suicide in communities throughout the country.

Nat